Gas-engine construction



24, 1925. 5 5 M. W. MAGANN GAS ENGINE CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. 24, 1920 Irvuemior:

Her/VIZ l Yiflajanm By W der.

Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

ATEN'T OFFICE. r

MERRITT W. MAGANN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

, GAS-ENGINE G ONSTRUCTION.

* Application filed December 24, 1920. Serial No. 432,924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mnnn rr W. MAGANN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Gas-Engine Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of gasengines, and particularly concerns the construction of their cylinders and pistons. It is a well-known fact that the wear on gas engine cylinders occasioned by the reciprocation of the piston is very great. This is due part1 to the high temperature within the oylin er, and to the fact that the use of a suificient quantity of lubricating oil tends to produce carbonization in the cylinders.

Such wear causes a reduction in the efficiency and also necessitates the reboring' of the cylinders from time to time. The general. object of the present invention is to overcome this dilficulty and to provide simple means for iding the piston within the cylinder wit out subjectin the cylinder to unnecessary wear and at t e same time to provide means for effecting the lubrication of the sliding parts which will operate in such a way as to prevent or tend to prevent the formation of carbon within the cylin- Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter. The invention consists in the novel features, and in the general combination of parts to be particularly described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce a simple and efiicient gas-engine construction.- A preferred embodiment of my invention will be particularly described in the following specification, while the broad scope of my invention will-be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, I

Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section through the cylinder of an engine to which my invention has been applied and Figure 2 is a vertical section taken about on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, but showing the fork end of the connecting-rod in elevation, and broken away.

My invention may be applied to a cylinder of an engine of almost any construction it the engine is of the common type of gasengine in which the end of the cylinder to ward the shaft is open. It may be applied to engines operating on the two-cycle or four-cycle principle. In order to apply the invention to such an engine it is simply necessary to remove the piston and provlde my special piston and guiding means, such vas the bushing which I provide. The invention may be readily embodied in the design of a new engine.

For the purpose of illustration, in the accompanying specification and drawing, I have represented the invention as ap lied to an en ine that is supposed to have een already uilt.

In the drawing, 1 represents one of the vertical cylinders of a multi-cylinder gasengine, the lower ends of the cylinders being supported on a crank-case 2. Within the bore of the cylinder 1, I provide a piston 3, and this piston comprises a transverse disc or head 4 at its outer or upper end and a cylindrical shell 5 which may be cast integrally with the head, and extends inwardly therefrom. This piston 3 is ringless, that is to say, it presents an uninterrupted cylindrical face extending from the head 4: to

its lower end 6.

The usual means for attaching a connecting-rod to a piston is a transverse wrist-pin which passes through the side walls of tlie piston, and the force exerted by the piston 18 imparted through the side walls to the pin, and thence to the connectin -rod. According to my invention I provide the piston with an unobstructed bore 7 which extends from the inner end 6 clear-up'to the head t, and the attachment of the connecting rod 8 to the piston is efiected through the medium of 2. st 9 which is preferably of conical form, t e upper or outer end of the cone being the lar e end and formed inlower or inner end of the post. carries an integral boss or sleeve 10 which is drilled receive a wrist pin 11 which connects the forks 12 of the-connecting rod (see Fig. 2). The wall of the post or cone 9 may be provided with an opening,csuch as the opening 13 which lessens the weight of the piston and which also enables the core to be supported within the mold when the piston is cast. The piston shell 5 is provided at one side with an openin 14. through which the pin 11 may beintro uoed.

In order to 'de the piston independently of the cylmder 1, I rovide a, guide in the form of a guide bu'shlng 15" the inner end of which is fixed to some part of the ing with an annular shoulder ldwhich is of the proper diameter to fit snugly into the lower end of the bore 1 of the cylinder 1. This operates to insure exact centering or alignment of the bushing within the cylinder. The lower or inner end of the bushing is provided with a flange 17 which may be secured by suitable bolts 18 to the end of the cylinder that projects into the engine casing. The bushin 15 is of a diameter to fit neatly within the bore 7 of the piston 3 and as'the piston descends a telescoping action takes place between the 7 piston and bushing. Of course there 18 formed between the bore. I and the bush-' ing 15, an annular space 19 which receives the lower end of the piston as it descends. The packing of the piston is effected be tween the bushing and the bore 7 of the piston 3 instead of on the outer face of the piston. For this purpose, I provide packing rings 20 mounted in suitable annular grooves. For lubrication of the contact surfaces of the bushing and piston I depend upon the splashing up of the lubricatin oil from a bath, the level of which is in icated by the line 21. This bath is carried in the bottom of the crank-casein the usual way and as it is struck by the cranks 22 of the engine, the lubricant is lashed up'into the interior of the piston. l uacntities of it come in contact with the bore 7 and find their .way down toward the packing rings 21. I prefer however, to

provide means to prevent the largest quan- H witha lurality of rip-openings 23. These refera l incline downwardly toward they re of t e bushing, and if desired, may be located just above the rings 20.

1.1 In the operation of the engine, of course,

any escape of gas past the piston within the cylinder would eventually be prevented at the packing rings 20.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments my invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of my invention nor in my claims, to the particular embodiment set' forth.

In practice I prefer to construct the" piston 4 of lyanite. and the bushing of rass; when the bushing has become greatly worn, then it can be replaced by abushing of larger diameter. This substitution can be readily efi'ected without putting the engine out of commission more than an hour or so.

It is obvious that the guide 15 may be cast integral with the wall of the cylinder 4 1, provided the cylinder head is cast separate to permit the machining of the guide andthe bore of the cylinder. This machining could be accomplished by means of a miller of sleeve form. It is also obvious that any desired pressure-lubricating-system may be employed with my engine construction.

1. In a gas-engine, the combination of a crank case adapted to carry abath of lubricating oil, a cylinder mounted in the crankcase and having a cylindrical shell with a bore open at its inner end, a fixed guide- What I claim is: i

bushing projecting into the bore of the piston from the inner end of the cylinder, whereby an annular space is formed between the cylinder wall and the bushin said bushing having drip-openings throng the wall thereof crating to prevent quan tities of the lubricating oil from passing into the annular space between the bushing and the cylinder wall, and packing rings carried by the bushing.

2. In a gas-engine, the combination of a cylinder, a piston mounted to reciprocate therein, having shell extending inwardly from the head with its bore open at its inner end, a fixed guide-bushing projecting into the bore of the piston from the inner end of the cylinder, operating to guide the piston within the cylinder, a post of substantially conical form having its base integrally connected withthe head, said post projecting inward- 1y, a connecting rod connected at one end to the crank of the engine and a wrist-pin fastened to the up er end of the connecting rod and through t e inner end of the post.

3. In a gas-engine, the combination of a c linder, a piston mounted to reciprocate t erein, having shell extending inwardly from the head with its bore open at its inner end, a fixed guide-bushing projecting into the bore of the piston from the inner end of the cylinder, operating to guide the piston within the cylinder, a hollow substantially conical post havin its base integrally connected with the head and extending inwardly, a connecting rod attached to the crank shaft at one end, and a wrist-pin passing throu h the inner end of the post and through the .outer end of the connecting rod.

a head and a cylindricala head and a cylindrical In testimony whereof, I have hereunto I set my hand.

MERRITT W. MAGANN. 

